A resounding no to drugs, alcohol, and the criminal life expressed hundreds of students at the closing of the municipal program “I’m behind the wheel, I’m driving to my future”, in a ceremony that took place at the Poliforum Zamná last December 1.
The program coordinated by the Municipal Police reached 12,000 young people from 15 high schools and 10 universities, with various activities.
The one that caught the young people’s attention the most was the driving simulator if they had drunk alcoholic beverages.
The closing ceremony included the participation of special guests such as Juan Sebastián Marroquín (Juan Pablo Escobar, son of Pablo Escobar Gaviria), pacifist writer and lecturer. The presence on stage of the exponent, the son of the well-known Colombian drug trafficker, kept the attention of the young people.
The speaker clarified that he did not follow in his father’s footsteps or those of revenge and even maintained a friendship with an opponent of his father. In his speech, he projected photographs of the mansions and wealth they had, but that was over.
He also talked about building houses in a poor neighborhood but said it was done with the blood money of many people. At the births of Escobar’s children, he only attended the photograph because he was persecuted. The conference was titled “Pablo Escobar, a story not to be repeated.”
Sebastián Marroquín said that it is an honor for him to share that story. He recalled that when he was 16 years old he made one of the worst mistakes of his life: he publicly said that he would avenge his father’s death and kill everyone who had participated in his death. Those seconds of threats turned into 30 years of exile, he lamented.
I want to tell you, young people, that the name is not important, what matters in life are those actions, that is what builds our true identity, what we do, not the family we come from.
As Escobar, he should have continued his father’s legacy, but instead, he became very aware early on that he had to do the opposite and showed everyone the path that should not be taken.
Sebastián Marroquín explained that when he made the mistake of threats, he sadly wanted to leave the country (Colombia), he did not want to stay.
Minutes after having reflected on what I had said, I called the media to say that I was sorry, that I regretted having sworn revenge for my father, he said. It is the second promise that I have been keeping in the last 30 years.
This December 2 marks 30 years since my father’s death and today, unfortunately, he is still a current character in the culture of our society. The speaker asked the students who had seen a production about their father and half raised their hands.
At the inauguration of the program were Alejandro Castro Ruz, mayor of Mérida; Mario Arturo Romero Escalante, director of the Municipal Police, and Celia Rivas Rodríguez, councilor.
The mayor and the commander sent messages to young people about the importance of taking care of their lives and not driving if they drink.
Romero Escalante said that this gives them the strength to move forward through preventive work on drug and alcohol consumption.
In addition, he warned that until Monday, November 26, 365 people had died in traffic accidents in Yucatán. Of them, a good part was between 18 and 29 years old, and in the vast majority of cases in which they died young there was alcohol involved. I ask you one thing so that you help maintain the levels of security and the levels that we enjoy in Yucatán: if you are going to drive, do not drink, explained the director of the Municipal Police.
TYT Newsroom
